The Melvin Vernell III shooting death put Northside Hospital on lockdown last night. WAFB reports that the Lil Phat shooting erupted Thursday evening. The attack was not inside the hospital, but rather in the parking deck near the hospital’s women’s center.

WAFB reports the shooting erupted after 6:30 pm local time. Melvin Vernell III was inside a car when he was shot dead. Officials report to news that Vernell was seated inside his vehicle parked near the hospital’s Labor and Delivery wing.

Rapper Lil Phat, a member of Trill Entertainment whose roster includes Lil Boosie and Webbie, was shot and killed Thusday night outside an Atlanta hospital.

Police Capt. Steve Rose confirmed to WXIA-TV, the local NBC affiliate, that 19-year-old Melvin Vernell III, who went by Lil Phat, was shot several times on the parking deck near the entrance of Northside Hospital Women's Center and was pronounced dead later that night.

Authorities are searching for two men who were spotted fleeing the scene following the shooting.

Vernell was an up-and-coming member of Trill, a hip-hop imprint started in Baton Rouge, La. On its website, the label calls him "the underdog ready to bust to the front line with his consistent street anthems and hustler music lyrics."

The rapper was featured on Webbie's hit single "Independent," which reached No. 9 on the Hot 100 in 2008. On Twitter, Webbie wrote, "RIP to my lil brother Phat! Life so f--ked up! TRILL4LIFE." Watch the video for "Independent," costarring labelmate Lil' Boosie, who was recently acquitted of first degree murder in Bato

The 19-year-old rapper — born Melvin Vernell 3rd — was shot to death outside a hospital in Sandy Springs, Ga., and police are searching for two suspects "seen running from the location at the time of the shooting," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Police said Vernell, who hailed from Baton Rouge, La., was hit multiple times as he sat in a parked car near the hospital's entrance and was pronounced dead shortly afterward.

As word of the rapper's death spread, his label mates took to Twitter to mourn.

Police Capt. Steve Rose confirmed to WXIA-TV, the local NBC affiliate, that 19-year-old Melvin Vernell III, who went by Lil Phat, was shot several times on the parking deck near the entrance of Northside Hospital Women's Center and was pronounced dead later that night.

Authorities are searching for two men who were spotted fleeing the scene following the shooting.

Vernell was an up-and-coming member of Trill, a hip-hop imprint started in Baton Rouge, La. On its website, the label calls him "the underdog ready to bust to the front line with his consistent street anthems and hustler music lyrics."

The rapper was featured on Webbie's hit single "Independent," which reached No. 9 on the Hot 100 in 2008. On Twitter, Webbie wrote, "RIP to my lil brother Phat! Life so f--ked up! TRILL4LIFE." Watch the video for "Independent," costarring labelmate Lil' Boosie, who was recently acquitted of first degree murder in Bato